"What I decided to do is start drafting legislation that would take a third of this money, about $2.5 million to $3 million and divert it over to a State Police effort to help continue to patrol the Quarter and keep them here long term," Moreno said.

The state lottery commission estimates about $9 million from expired tickets goes unclaimed each year. About a third of that money is generated in the Greater New Orleans area.

With the state facing a deficit of more than a billion dollars by the July start of the fiscal year, a newly identified possible revenue stream could help to offset a number of cuts across the state. Moreno is hoping the governor's office does not lay claim to the unclaimed prize money to help fill the state's budget shortfall.

"I alerted the Division of Administration about this money and they were very interested in this money," Moreno said.

Higher education is facing just about the biggest budget gap, one that will take far more than leftover lottery prize money to fill.

"This $9 million is not going to fix higher education. What we need to fix higher education is a drastic measure like doubling the cigarette tax which would generate about $250 million to $300 million a year," she said.

Moreno believes the prize money people did not realize they'd won, will eventually turn into a win-win for the city.

"We had to think outside of the box and create our own box to come up with a funding stream," she said.

A spokesperson for the Jindal administration tells WDSU- the unclaimed lottery money is not included in the budget he is presenting to lawmakers Friday.